TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 253, 23 October 1907, Page 8

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Inquirier.—Mr. de Wolfe. ] PRODUCE PRICES. (To the Editor.) Sir, —I am much obliged to "Reader" for his reply anent the prices of butter and eggs, but he has not grasped my main contention, namely, that the prices for the products are not proportional to the prices of feed and labour. For illustration, the bakers are raising the price of bread because of the advance in flour, etc. Besides, the prices for butter are not the value of the commodity, and a reason assigned for the lowness of prices is that members of the dairy committee sent home butter and it only fetched Sd per lb. Now this reveals the keystone. Large grocers gather dairy butter, manipulate it, and then send it to the gumfields and elsewhere. Hence the prices are kept down so that they may have "enormous profits." I can inform "'Reader" that butter is regularly bought in Symonds-street and Karangahape-road for 7d. and under, and no person will get more except conditionally on taking goods to its value or more. I have got more than the quotation, but only once or twice. Some clamorous woman may get lid, but only when goods thrice the value of the butter are taken. Eggs, through the existence of the Co-opera-tive Company, may be left to their fate. Still, the aim here is generally to cheapen, so reports say. What I urge is that a butter company should be started to secure fair prices. And, further, the Government should have a person appointed to see that a fair price is fixed for butter just as there is for labour. If the land furnishes ninetenths of the exports, the workers on the land have a claim. I am, etc., PRODUCER.